Look What Grew in My Garden!

Tags

fresh, garden, home grown, Kentucky Proud, produce, summer, vegetables

This is my second year growing my own garden. I have had success and failure both years. I am not nearly as good at this as my grandparents. I don’t know very many tricks of the trade. But I am learning new things each year.

You can use a 1:1 parts Epsom salt and water mixture to spray your bell pepper plants that bloom and bloom without every bearing fruit. Apparently this malady is caused by a lack of magnesium. Who knew?!

Cucumbers vines trellis really well but you have to look for new cucumbers nearly every day, otherwise they turn into orange or yellow monstrosities that are disgusting! I knew this already but I always had my mom reminding me to go look at them.

Place tomatoes on your counter stem side down. This slows the rotting process.

What great garden or vegetable tips do you have?

 

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Roasted New Potatoes and Onions with Truffle Oil

Tags

garden, gluten free, Kentucky Proud, new potatoes, onions, roasted, side dish, truffles, vegetarian

My dear in-laws gave me an ice cream bucket full of new potatoes last week. They are divine. I tend to make simple recipes with new potatoes. I prefer to let their gorgeous flavor and texture shine though. These potatoes are about as simple as they can get but they are packed with amazing flavor.

Roasted New Potatoes and Onions with Truffle Oil

• 1 lb new potatoes, washed and diced
• 1 onion, sliced
• Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
• Olive oil
• Truffle oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a cast iron skillet, add your onions and potatoes. Toss in desired amount of olive oil (don’t use too much as you will be adding more oil later). Bake until potatoes are tender, stirring half way through (about 30 minutes). Remove potatoes from the oven and add the truffle oil. Toss to distribute evenly. Now would be the time to add fresh truffle shavings if you were lucky enough to have those. Adjust salt and pepper if needed. Enjoy!

Spring is Nature’s Way of Saying, “Let’s party!”

Tags

flowers, garden, Kentucky, spring

There is a party in my garden… 

And you are invited!

Some days I spend more time in the garden than I do in the kitchen. 

Any day in the garden is a good day. Good Morning!

(If you look close, you can see the baby asparagus spears peaking up!)

Tomato Basil Bisque

Tags

basil, Dinner, garden, soup, summer, Supper, tomato

This time of year, my tomatoes are really cranking them out. Rather than let them go to waste, I have been on the lookout for new ways to put them to use. One of my favorite soups is tomato bisque. It tastes like it is hard to make but this recipe proves it is not.

Tomato Basil Bisque

• 4 tomatoes – peeled and diced
• 4 cups tomato juice
• 14 leaves fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons onion, chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, chopped
• Red pepper flakes to taste
• 1 dollop of bacon grease or butter
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Place tomatoes and juice in a stock pot over medium heat.  In a small skillet, saute onion, garlic, and pepper flakes. Add to tomatoes and juice. Simmer for 30 minutes.  Puree the tomato mixture along with the basil leaves, and return the puree to the stock pot. Place the pot over medium heat, and stir in the heavy cream and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Do not boil.